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T. H. SEELY. UPPER PULL|N G MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-17.1916.

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T. H. SEELY.

UPPER PULLING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-17.1916.

Patented May 27, 1919. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 0.. WASHING you, n. r.

UNITED STATES PA ENT ormon.

THOMAS H. SEELY, OE MALDEN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOB, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TOv UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A COR- PORATIONV or NEW JERSEY.

UPPEB-PULLI NG MECHANISM,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS H. SEELY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Malden, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Upper-Pulling Mechanism, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to upper pulling mechanism and more particularly to grip controlling means, being herein embodied in the gripper mechanism of a well-knowntype of shoe lasting and tacking machine. I

An object of the invention is to enable the gripper, with certainty, to maintain control of the upper after pulling and until control isassumed by some other,instrumentality,.as a wiper or a tack inserting mechanism. important feature of the invention consists in the combination of an upper stretching gripper and a cooperating wiper, tacking means, or the like, with novel means for relatively operating the gripper and the coeperatmg means to maintain continuous or un interrupted control of the stretched upper. This invention is herein shown, for purposes of explanation, as embodied in a hand' method lasting machine in which it has been successfully employed. In that machine the gripper has imparted to it a jaw closing movement to seize the upper stock, an updrawing movement to pull or stretch the upper, and an overdrawing movement to carry the margin of the stretched upper over the shoe bottom preparatory to itsbeing tacked to the innersole. The machine has also a combined wiper and tack block which is'operated to follow the gripper in its overdraw movement to rub or wipe the upper over the innersole' and hold it in position to be tacked. Economy of upper stock requires that the gripper should give place to the ad vancing wiper in order that a tack may be inserted in suitable relat on to the edge of the shoe bottom. In short, undersized or in-' elastic uppers the grippers can overdraw but a very short distance and the tack must bev driven into the identical portion'of the stock which has been held by the gripper jaws.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented May 27, 1919.

App1ication filed August 17, 1916. Serial No. 115,535. I 7

different stock conditions the overdraw movement-is yieldingly efiected and thereby made variable in length to take up whatever length of stock has been updrawn. Inasmuch as the combined wiper and tack block follows the gripper automatically during the overdraw it has been necessary in rapidly operated power driven machines to open the gripper jaws at an early stage in the overdraw movement in order that, while pulling an inelastic upper, they should get out of the way of the wiper. The practical result has been that there has occurred a loss of tension on the upper between its release by the grippers'and its complete'control by the wiper. In a more particular aspect this invention consists, for the purpose of overcoming this loss of tension, inmeans for causing the gripper jaws to retainfrictional engagement with the upper after the pulling grip on the upper has been relieved. This organization allows the upper to slip between thejaws, if it is" short, during the overdraw movement and permits deferring of the final opening of the jaws until the wiperrhas advanced far enough to insure no loss of tension in the stretched upper. The mechanism herein shown as employed for operating the gripper includes, in'addition to a jaw closing means, a jaw holding means tov which control of the jaws is transferred provements embodying the present invention. 1

I Fig. 2 is an enlarged similar side elevation of thex gripper j aw closing and holding mechanism.

Fig 3 is a perspective View of said mechanism showing the connections extending to the gripper.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged front elevation of the jaw closing mechanism.

Fig. 5 is a similar rear elevation of the jaw holding mechanism.

Fig. 6 is a detail view showing the gripper positively holding and tensioning the upper;

F 7 is a similar view showing the wiper advancing over .the shoe bottom and the upper slipping from between the gripper jaws while held under tension.

The grippers are indicated at 2 and are or may be of the construction disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,005,234, granted Oct. 10, 1911, on application of Ladd and McFeely. The grippers are sus pended from an updraw lever 4 which receives its working movement from the cam shaft through a spring 5, and are embraced by a yoke 6 on the front end of the overdraw rod 8 which receives its working movement from a spring 10, all shown in Fig. 1 and having the construction and arrangement common in this type of machine, an example of which may be seen in Ladd and McFeely Patent No. 584,744.

The closing bar 15 of the gripper, which is normally upraised by the jaw opening spring 16, is overlaid by an arm 20 of a rockshaft 22 mounted in hearings on the updraw lever 4 and having a second arm 24, Fig. 4, pivotally supporting a roll carrier 25 that transmits jaw closing movement yieldingly through spring 26 from closing cam 28 on the main cam shaft 30.

In the rear of rock shaft 22 of the jaw closing mechanism is the rock-shaft 32 of the jaw holding mechanism, carried in a bracket 33 secured to the machine head. An arm 34 is clamped on a sleeve 35 on the rear end of rock-shaft 32 and carries a roll that receives motion from a cam 38 adjustably secured at 37, Fig. 5, to a hub on the main cam shaft 30. This motion is transmitted from arm 34 and its sleeve 35 to the rock-shaft 32 yieldingly by a spring 36 one end of which engages a collar 39 rigid with rock-shaft 32 and the other end of which is secured to an adjusting lever 42 that is pivoted on the shaft and has a pawl and ratchet engagement at 37 with the sleeve 35, as shown in Fig. 2. A second arm 40 is rigidly secured to jawholding rock-shaft 32 and its free end is forked, Figs. 3 and 5, to embrace a roll 44 on the rear side of the arm 24 of jaw closing rock-shaft 22. The jaw holding cam 38 is set with its effective high portion angularly behind the effective high portion of the jaw closing cam 28, as illustrated in Fig. 4.

This construction and organization provides that the jaws shall be closed by the cam 28 and held during the updraw or upper stretching movement of the grippers after which the high part of cam 28 shall pass from under the roll arm 24. In the old machine this would have allowed spring 16 to open the jaws in the early part of the overdraw in order that the grippers might get out of the way of the wiper if the upper were short or inelastic. In accordance with the new organization the control of the jaws passes, as shown in Fig. 4, from the closing cam 28 to the holding cam 38 through arm 40, rock-shaft 32, spring 36 and arm 34. The spring 36 is maintained at a tension which will hold the jaws in engagement with the stock and allow the stock to slip from between them during the overdraw if the stock is short or inelastic. The holding cam 38 is maintained inangular adjustment, at 37, to hold the jaws lightly closed during all or any desired part of the overdraw.

The combined wiper and tack block 50, through which the driver 52 operates, is advanced toward the right in Fig. 1, by connections (not shown) with cam shaft 30, closely following the grippers during the overdraw and laying the stretched upper down upon the innersole in position to be tacked. If the upper is short or inelastic, so that there has been a short updraw and there is a narrow margin to carry over in the overdraw, the upper will begin to slip between the jaws early in the overdraw but the jaws will 'retain frictional engagement and control of the upper throughout the overdraw or until it has pulled entirely out of the jaws, and the gripper will thereby cooperate with the wiper to manipulate the upper into tacking position without loss of tension. If the advancing wiper should in any instance overtake the overdrawing gripper and engage it no harm will occur for the wiper will push the gripper ahead of it, causing the upper to slip faster from between the jaws, whereas if the jaws were holding the upper with the force of the closing mechanismcollision between the wiper and gripper would batter those parts and be liable to tear out the portion of upper held by the aws.

The greater thickness of the upper materials of the toe portion of some shoes than of the sides renders it desirable on some work to reduce the tension of spring 36 while lasting the toe. This can be done by lever 42 and inasmuch as the time for this adjustment is coincident with the time for mak. ing well-known adjustments of the grippers for plaiting the toe this invention includes connections, not shown, from the known plaiter controlling mechanism to the spring 36 to make the spring adjustment automatically.

Having explained the nature of this invention and described how it may be employed, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States 1. In a machine of the class described, the combination of an upper stretching gripper,

a cooperating wiper, and means for operat-' ing the gripper to maintain continuous controlof the gripped portion of the upper during the advance of the wiper first by a V anism therefor organized to cause the grip per to seize and pull the stock and then to carry it toward position to be fastened,sa1d mechanism being constructed and arranged to relieve the grip of the gripper jaws on. the stock for the carrying over movement and to retain frictional engagement of the jaws with the stock during such movement.

3.- An upper pulling machine having, in combination, a gripper, means to close the gripper jaws, and other means to the control of which the grip-per jaws pass from the closing means and which operates to hold the jaws upon the work with lighter pressure than that applied by the closing means.

4. An upper pulling machine having, in combination, a gripper having upper seizing jaws, and jaw operating means organized to close the jaws and maintain a grip for aportion of the cycle of the machine and then to hold the jaws closed with a lighter pressure to allow the upper to slip between the jaws during a succeeding portion of the cycle.

5. An upper pulling machine having, in combination, a gripper having upper seizing jaws, means to close the jaws, means to raise the gripper to stretch the upper, means to move the gripper outward to overdraw the upper, and means arranged to take control of the jaws during the overdraw and hold them on the upper with a pressure lighter than the pulling grip and adapted to allow them to draw off the upper during the overdraw.

6. In an upper pulling machine, a gripper, a gripper jaw closing mechanism, updrawing means, overdrawing means, and a jaw holding mechanism to the control of which the closing mechanism gives over the jaws during the overdraw.

7. In an upper pulling machine, a gripper and a gripper jaw closing mechanism comprising a rock-shaft having one arm operatively connected with the gripper, a second arm, a cam roll, a roll carrier pivoted to the second arm, and a closing pressure regulating spring operatively arranged between the second arm and the roll carrier.

8. In an upper pulling machine, a gripper and gripper jaw controlling mechanisms comprising jaw closing means and additional means arranged to become operative subsequently to hold the jaws closed with lighter pressure than the closing pressure.

9. In an upper pulling machine, a gripper and gripper jaw contrtolling mechanisms comprising a stiii spring through which aw closing pressure is applied and a lighter spring through which jaw holding pressure is applied. a

10. In an upper pulling machine, a gripper and gripper jaw controlling mechanisms comprising a stiff spring and a cam to apply jaw closing pressure through the stiff spring, a light spring and a second cam arranged to become operative before the end of the throw of the first cam and to apply holding pressure to the jaws through the light spring and the arm after the end of the throw of the first cam. r

11. In anupper pulling machine, a gripper to updraw and overdraw the upper, a wiper'to follow the gripper during the overdraw and lay the upper upon the innersole, and grip controlling" means organized to close the jaws and hold them firmly upon the upper during the updraw and to hold them less firmly during the overdraw so that the upper can slip from them as the wiper advances.

12. In an upper pulling machine, a gripper to updraw and overdraw the upper, and grip controlling means organized to close the jaws and hold them firmly upon the upper during the updraw and'to hold them less firmly during the overdraw. so that the upper can slip from them.

13-. In an upper pulling machine, a gripper to updraw the upper, a wiper to lay the upper over the shoe innersole, and grip controlling nieans organized to hold the jaws firmly upon the upper during the updraw and to hold the jaws with a definitely less pressure during the advance of the iwiper and allow the upper to slip out as the wiper advances.

let. In an .upper pulling machine, a

controlling means organized to'hold the jaws firmly upon the upper during the updraw and to hold the jaws with a definitely less pressure during the advance of the wiper and allow the upper to slip out as the wiper advances, and means to adjust definitely the pressure with which the jaws are held during the advance of the wiper.

15. In an upper pulling machine, a gripper controlling mechanism comprising a strong spring to close the gripper jaws, a weaker spring, and means operating to transfer control of jaws from the strong spring to the weaker spring at a predetermined point in the operation of the machine.

16. In an upper pulling machine, a gripper controlling mechanism comprising a strong spring to close the gripper jaws,

a weaker spring, means operating to trans-' 17. In a step by step lasting machine, a gripper and a Wiper operating in timed relation to stretch a portion of upper over the edge of a last and then to Wipe it down upon the last bottom, and an edge gageto determine the position of the shoe in the path of the wiper, combined with a gripper operating mechanism organized to prolong the action of the gripper on the margin of the stock for a substantial length of time after the Wiper has begun to wipe down the stock between the edge of the last and the gripper.

18. In a step by step lasting machine, a gripper and a Wiper operating in timed relation to stretch a portion of an upper over the edge of a last and then to Wipe it down over the last bottom, and an edge gage to determine the position of the Shoe ,in the path of the Wiper, combined with a gripper operating mechanism organized to relieve Without releasing the gripping hold of the gripper on the stock during the advance of the Wiper over the stock in such manner that the gripper continues to maintain control of the edge of the stock during a substantial portion of the movement of the Wiper over the last bottom.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

THOMAS H. SEELY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

